What is TikTok?
TikTok is a short-form video sharing app owned by ByteDance, a Chinese technology company. It first launched in 2016 under the name Douyin in China, and later expanded overseas as TikTok. The app has become hugely popular among Generation Z users, who use it to create and share 15 to 60 second videos on any topic.
TikTok is best known for its bite-sized videos showing people dancing, lip-syncing, pulling pranks, or taking part in challenges. The app’s algorithm is very adept at serving users content that aligns with their interests and keeps them endlessly scrolling and watching. This has led to many viral meme and trend moments originating on TikTok before spreading elsewhere online.
As of 2022, TikTok has been downloaded over 3.3 billion times worldwide and has over 1 billion monthly active users, according to Business of Apps. It is hugely popular with teenagers and young adults in the Gen Z age range. The app provides easy video creation tools and creative effects that appeal to this demographic.
Why Join TikTok?
TikTok has grown rapidly to become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users. There are several key reasons to join TikTok:
Share your own videos – TikTok makes it easy for anyone to create and share fun 15-60 second videos. You can showcase your creativity, document your life, or express yourself.
Watch trending videos – TikTok’s algorithm is great at showing you relevant and entertaining videos. You’ll discover the latest trends, challenges, memes, and more based on your interests.
Participate in challenges – Challenges go viral on TikTok, letting you put your spin on dance trends, comedy sketches, recipes, and more. It’s enjoyable to participate in collective online experiences.
TikTok provides an engaging platform to be creative, get entertained, join trends, and connect with a community. As noted by Brand Mentions, key benefits include staying on top of trends, engaging your audience, and growing brand awareness [1].
Signing Up
To create a new TikTok account, you’ll first need to download the TikTok app from the App Store or Google Play store. TikTok requires users to be at least 13 years old, so you’ll need to confirm you meet the minimum age requirements.
Once the app is installed, open it up and tap on the profile icon in the bottom right corner. Here you can tap the “Sign Up” button to begin creating your new account. You’ll need to enter your email address and create a password. You’ll also need to provide a unique username that will be associated with your account.
The final step is to agree to TikTok’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy before your account can be created. As stated in their Terms of Use, users must be at least 13 years old to use the platform.
Completing Your Profile
Once you’ve signed up for TikTok, the next step is to complete your profile. This includes adding key details that allow others to get to know you on the platform.
First, add a profile photo. This will be the thumbnail image associated with your account that people will see on your videos and profile. Choose a clear, high-quality photo of yourself to help showcase your personality. You can also add a profile video if you prefer that instead of a static image.
Next, take some time to write out your profile bio. This is limited to 80 characters, so be concise. Share your name, a few interests, what you plan to post about, or anything else important for people to know. This bio displays on your profile page.
You can also link other social media accounts like Instagram or Twitter to your TikTok profile. Connecting accounts makes it easy for followers from other platforms to find and follow you on TikTok as well. Just go to settings and select “link other social media accounts.”
According to TikTok’s Help Center article, “Setting up your profile,” completing your profile is key for personalizing your experience: https://support.tiktok.com/en/getting-started/setting-up-your-profile
Optimizing Settings
Once you have created your TikTok account, it’s important to adjust the default settings to optimize your experience. You’ll want to customize your privacy settings, notification preferences, and video upload options.
Start by navigating to the settings menu and reviewing the various privacy controls. TikTok allows you to make your account private, restrict comments, limit your audience, disable sharing options, and more. Enable the settings that make sense for your comfort level. For example, you may want to limit your account visibility until you are ready to actively start engaging.
Next, visit settings to configure your push notification preferences. Here you can toggle notifications on or off for direct messages, comments, likes, new followers, and more. Disable any notifications you find annoying or unnecessary. You can also control the frequency of notifications.
Finally, go to settings and select “Data usage and storage” to modify your video upload preferences. Pay attention to the video aspect ratio, ensure it is optimized for mobile at a 9:16 ratio. Also check the video quality and size – HD 1080p video at up to 3-6 MB per second is ideal. Refer to recommended specifications to configure the best TikTok upload settings for your device.
Optimizing these key settings as soon as you join TikTok will help create the best, most tailored experience for your needs.
Finding Content
Once you have set up your profile, the next step is to start finding interesting content on TikTok. There are several ways to discover new videos and creators to follow on the platform:
Search for videos using keywords, hashtags, or sounds: TikTok has a powerful search feature that allows you to find videos by keyword, hashtag, or sound. You can search for broad topics like “dance” or more specific keywords like “makeup tutorial.” TikTok will return results based on relevancy. Using popular hashtags like #fyp is a great way to find trending content. You can also search for videos using a specific sound or song.
Follow creators you like: Once you find videos and creators you enjoy, make sure to follow them. This will ensure their new content shows up in your Following feed. Check out the bios and profiles of creators who make videos you like, and tap “Follow” to keep up with their latest content.
Scroll through your For You feed: The For You feed on TikTok is customized to you based on your interactions. The more you like, share, and engage with videos, the better the algorithm gets at recommending relevant, interesting content. Make sure to scroll through your For You page and interact with videos to improve your recommendations over time. As this HootSuite article explains, the TikTok algorithm is constantly learning about your interests based on how you engage.
By searching for specific content, following creators, and regularly interacting with your For You feed, you will be able to discover a never-ending stream of videos tailored just for you on TikTok.
Interacting
Interacting with other users’ content is one of the best ways to get more views and followers on TikTok. Here are some tips for effectively interacting with other TikTok users:
Like, comment on, and share videos you genuinely enjoy. This helps build relationships and shows creators you appreciate their work. TikTok’s algorithm surfaces content based in part on engagement, so interacting helps videos be seen by more users. Consider leaving value-adding comments that continue the conversation or compliment the creator’s work.
Duet or stitch videos to add your own spin. Duet allows you to record a video alongside someone else’s, while stitch combines their video with yours. This can help your content be seen by the original creator’s followers. But only duet/stitch respectfully and with creators you have an existing relationship with (Buffer).
Follow hashtags and sounds related to your niche. This surfaces new videos and creators aligned with your interests and can lead to new connections. Engage genuinely with videos from these feeds to organically grow your audience.
Creating Videos
One of the best parts of TikTok is the ability to easily create fun and engaging videos right within the app. Here are some tips for shooting, editing, and enhancing your TikTok videos:
Shoot vertically within the TikTok app using your phone’s camera. Keep videos under 60 seconds. Capture multiple clips and shots to give your video variety. Move the camera around to add movement and make it more dynamic.
Use TikTok’s built-in editing tools to trim clips, rearrange sections, and stitch together different shots. Add transitions between clips for smooth editing. Include captions, graphics, filters, and stickers to stylize your video. Incorporate trending sounds, songs, effects, and hashtags for discovery.
Apply video effects like green screen, slow motion, or speed up to add interest. Insert text captions, stickers, and emojis to highlight moments. Use the voiceover tool to include voice narration. Enhance the video with the auto-tune effect for singing videos.
Check out these TikTok video editing tips for more ideas on creating amazing videos right on your phone (https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-video-ideas/). Experiment with different shots and effects until you’re happy with your creation.
Sharing Videos
To get maximum exposure for your videos on TikTok, the key is to share them properly. Some tips for sharing TikTok videos include:
Post to your profile. Be sure to post all your newly created videos to your TikTok profile. This makes them visible to your existing followers as well as helps expose them to new viewers through TikTok’s recommendation algorithm.
Use relevant hashtags. Include hashtags in your video captions and descriptions that are related to the content. Popular and trending hashtags can help more users find and watch your videos. See this guide for tips on choosing the right hashtags.
Cross-post to other platforms. You can grow your audience by sharing your TikTok videos on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Just be sure to adhere to each platform’s video formatting requirements.
Staying Safe
TikTok provides several tools to help keep users safe. First, review TikTok’s community guidelines to understand what is and isn’t allowed on the platform. Accounts violating guidelines may be removed. Second, activate privacy settings like making videos private, limiting comments and messages, and restricting duets or stitches.
To adjust privacy settings, go to your profile, hit the 3 dots icon, choose “Privacy and Safety,” and set preferences. Enable “Restricted Mode” to limit mature content. Parents can also use TikTok’s Family Pairing feature to monitor minor’s accounts. Finally, tap the share icon on inappropriate videos and tap “report” to notify TikTok.
